It’s (almost) the most wonderful time of the year…Fantastic Fest 2017 is right around in the corner, and if the first wave of film programming is any indication, this year’s lineup is going to be pretty stellar. The initial roster boasts the usual assortment of intriguing genre fare (like Takashi Miike’s 100th film, if you can believe it) alongside festival favorites and potential awards contenders, including new films from Yorgos Lanthimos, Ruben Ostlund, Martin McDonagh and more — so much more!
Mildred Hayes has had it. It’s been weeks since her daughter was brutally raped and murdered, and the local police force in Ebbing, Missouri don’t have a single perp to show for all their efforts. Feeling disrespected and unheard, Mildred does the only thing an ordinary citizen at the end of their rope can do: she clarifies which cursewords you can put on a billboard and puts a message right where area sheriff Willoughby will see it. Them’s fightin’ words on her billboards, reading “RAPED WHILE DYING. STILL NO ARRESTS. HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?” And in the newly released red-band trailer begins a long, farcical, spiteful conflict between one-woman army MIldred and the local cops.
In recent years, Martin McDonagh has emerged as the premier director of European-set, blackly comic crime pictures. McDonagh began as a noted playwright in his native Britain and Ireland, earning not only Laurence Olivier Awards, not only Drama Desk Awards, not only Tony nominations, but the undying respect of audiences and a devoted core fanbase...